Justified decided to take a step sideways this week. Not a step back but sideways to let us explore our hero Raylan and what motivates him. As his relationship with Winona continues to develop it's important to see what he's willing to sacrifice for her and the cracks that divided them before.
Boyd's little reminder to Raylan is essentially the crux of this week's episode with a little bank robbery thrown in to move our characters further. How far is Raylan willing to go to protect Winona? We saw him willing to put his life on the line to keep Ava safe last season and his bonds with Winona run much deeper. Just as we've seen Boyd is incapable of giving up what he is, a criminal, for Ava, we'll soon witness Raylan is equally incapable to give up being a lawman for Winona. One of life's truths is that we are who we are and the one's who love us have to accept that reality or move on.
My favorite part of the entire episode is the truth in Winona's actions when she is faced with financial pressures and a stash of money she thinks no one knows about. If she had taken a stack of money to deposit the believability of the story would have fallen apart before it started. By taking just one bill to see if it was real was a position nearly everyone could see themselves in. What if no one really knows about this money? This could solve all my problems. Even though she and us know it really wouldn't solve anything. Just as she realizes this herself and tries to leave, a bank robbery sends her little investigation spinning out of control.
When the $100 bill is taken during the robbery, she turns to the only person she can, Raylan. At this point, Boyd's words must be swirling around in his head as Raylan is face with the ethical lengths he'll go to keep Winona safe. Luckily, master bank robber Frank Reisner has his own plans that will tie up the authorities giving Raylan the opportunity to sort things out for Winona without anyone looking over his shoulder.
Reisner is Chief Dupty Mullen's Moby Dick. This one that eluded him thirty years ago before being brought to justice by someone else. Now an old man dying from emphysema, Reisner has enlisted the help of a couple young bucks to get him back into the game. As it turns out the old guy still has something less and a plan to end things on his terms.
The second bank robbery is all classic Raylan being smarter and faster than the average Harlan county criminal. He's able to thwart the robbery without a single shot. Well, that part isn't classic Raylan but the wit and banter with the suspects is. However, he still has the problem of getting his hands on the stolen money and Winona's bill before anyone else.
Mullen finally is able to outfox his old nemesis Reisner when he catches up with him at the airport. Reisner's plan was to fly himself to Mexico while the law was out chasing his young cohorts. If you didn't find yourself laughing at the worlds slowest fugitive chase then you don't find humor in humanity. Just as Reisner is facing mortality and the end of his life, Mullen is facing the mortality of his career. He's been on the job a long time and with agents like Raylan who are excellent at what they do but take an immense amount of supervising and patience, how much longer will he be able to keep up.
Ultimately, Raylan is able to get the stolen money and what could be Winona's rogue bill. He acknowledges that they need to talk about what went down and the position in which she has put him. In there is also the assumption that a discussion about their future together is in short order. He's now knows he'll sacrifice his own ethics for her but how far he'll go is still unknown.
Random Thoughts:
- I missed my Mags Bennett fix this week. I'm not so sure the Bennett stuff is going to find a resolution this season. This season may just be a primer for an explosive third season involving the Bennetts.
- I don't think there's a relationship on television I enjoy more than Boyd and Raylan.
- Mullen's ability to match wits with Raylan makes that relationship work on screen.
- The previews for next week make it obvious we are going to see exactly how far Raylan will go for Winona.
- There is no shortage of dumbass criminals in Harlan County.
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